Muniz retains county post after race tumult

Barry Donahue photo

Elenita Muniz and supporters at Barnstable Superior Courthouse on Wednesday morning.

By Rachael Devaney

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Elenita Muniz still has her job for now.

On Wednesday morning, the Barnstable County Commissioners discussed whether Muniz, the countys human rights coordinator, should keep her post after she issued some inflammatory comments on race at a Dec. 9 panel for International Human Rights Day at Cape Cod Community College. At that panel, she said that "all white people are racist."

During the commissioners regular meeting, held at the Barnstable Superior Courthouse, County Commissioners Sheila Lyons, Mary Pat Flynn and Bill Doherty decided to hold off on taking any action against Muniz. Doherty said he wants the matter discussed further.

Muniz was given 10 minutes at Wednesdays meeting to address the Board of County Commissioners regarding her position and her remarks. She said that the racially charged comments were "a poor choice of words."

"I am a Puerto Rican, a liberal and an activist. I have taken and lead anti-racism workshops, and I have spent time studying concepts surrounding white privilege, and because of that I work hard to be careful about my language and behavior around race," Muniz said. "What I should have said is that all white people have biases about race. However careful we are in our speech, however much we try to keep our thoughts neutral around race, we carry prejudices that manifest themselves when we least expect it."

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Muniz retains county post after race tumult